Today is one of those days that always makes me stop and think. Three years ago today, one of my dearest friends ever passed away suddenly. I hadn’t spoken to him in a while and his death was extremely unexpected. There were multiple complications involved as well which made the grieving process harder. Three years later and it doesn’t hurt as much. I still miss him and am saddened when I realize I can’t call him. I still have these days that belong to him- his birthday, his death anniversary, etc. Grief is one of the hardest things you have to experience in this life. However, there are ways to help the healing process along, including hypnosis.
To be clear, hypnosis is not like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”. We can never erase memories, nor should we ever want to. Even the memory of finding out about my friend’s passing is an important one. As humans, we need to experience pain. I can look back on that day and think about all the lessons I have learned from it. I learned how to deal with sudden loss, I learned that no matter how much pain I feel, I will go on and be stronger. Even in our darkest times, we can grow and learn.
The first thing you can do when grieving, is to allow yourself time. People can develop long term problems when they try to “be strong” or hold their grief back. The strongest thing you can do is give yourself permission to grieve. It does take time and there is no time limit. Some people can grieve for a few days and others need closer to a year. There is no wrong way to grieve. Hypnosis can help people release the feelings they are holding back, when they aren’t able to let themselves grieve.
Another issue happens when the grieving process seems to last too long at an intense level. Again, there is no time frame but if someone hasn’t gotten out of bed in several weeks or hasn’t regrained some sort of their normal personality back in several weeks, it might be time to get help. Hypnosis can help even in less extreme cases as well to help the healing process along.
Hypnosis can help in a few dother ways when dealing with grief. For starters, hypnosis can be used to help clients deal with any unfinished business they might have. Using different techniques including regression and visualization, the client can deal with any unfinished business and help them heal.
Hypnosis can also help turn some of the hurt into love and peace. Often memories of the ones we lost will bring up feelings of sadness and loss. Hypnosis can train the mind to feel happiness when those memories are present.
Hypnosis can also just promote the healing process and help it along. Some people get stuck when they feel that it’s not fair that they are still alive while their loved one is not, or perhaps if they don’t continue to grieve that they will be forgetting their loved ones. Hypnosis can help deal with these feelings as well.
Hypnosis alone might not always be enough. Grief counselors might be needed when the feelings of grief are overwhelming. A hypnotherapist should be able to help you find a referral to a grief counselor (I do personally know a great one, if anyone needs one). Finally, if you EVER feel suicidal after a loss, call 911 or the suicide prevention hotline immediately at 1-800-273-8255
One last note, hypnosis can help with grief at any point. Meaning, even if it’s just dealing with certain dates years later. Whatever the specific issue is with grief, hypnosis can help.
